


I've Got Blood On My Name

by rravii



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Fire, Gang!AU, M/M, Verbal Abuse, additional warnings: minor character death, also brief mention of minhyun from nu'est whoop, also there's a slight mingyu/wonwoo if you squint, didn't put them in the characters tag bc laziness, domestic/physical violence, i still love you - Freeform, i'm sorry jeonghan, most of them appear, small implications of sex, the violence isn't between jeongcheol jsyk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-20
Updated: 2015-09-20
Packaged: 2018-04-22 12:49:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4836020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rravii/pseuds/rravii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Money.” His eyes shifted from Seungcheol to somewhere to his side. “I need money.” Jeonghan repeated himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I've Got Blood On My Name

**Author's Note:**

> Not really sure what this is and also I am sorry.

“I’m curious,” Seungcheol said, leaning back in his chair, clasping his hands together, no doubt displaying the body language of some kind of cliché movie villain. “Why are you taking this job? Minhyun assured me taking you in on this was the right choice, but you don’t have anything to show for, no history in this kind of work. What made you suddenly dive in?”

The question hung in the air for a moment and Seungcheol noticed how the tense young man sitting on the chair on the other side of the desk clenched his jaw momentarily before opening his mouth. “I don’t have a history because I don’t get caught.” There was an edge to his tone, a poor cover-up of the nervousness hiding behind it. 

“There’s a difference between not getting caught and not having anything to show for.” Seungcheol smirked, seeing how the body language and aura around this man, Jeonghan, he said his name was, completely shifted into defense. 

His mouth twitched, a snarky response ready on his tongue, but he seemed to swallow it, and muttered, “Money.” His eyes shifted from Seungcheol to somewhere to his side. “I need money.” Jeonghan repeated himself, speaking more clearly now, eyes flickering back to Seungcheol, with more fire behind them now, and a touch of something extra, a challenge, a provoking, silent _‘duh’_. 

Deciding not to push him further, Seungcheol adjusted himself, sitting up straight in his chair and placing his hands on the table. “So, you’re clear on what you have to do?” Jeonghan gave him a quick nod. “I’m giving you a bit of freedom to work here, both because the job gives us that capability, and because I don’t know how you work. All you need to do is to seduce him and get it clearly on camera. We need some good, solid blackmail material. If you want to leave him high and dry, you do that. If you want to go home with him, you do that. Just make sure you _get it all on camera_.” 

He didn’t expect Jeonghan to have a hard time with this mission. He was very beautiful, his light brown hair just a touch longer than what most guys sported, the length not quite reaching his shoulders. His features were soft and stunning, but there was something to his eyes, a glint, an aura surrounding him that gave off a tough vibe. 

It wasn’t often that Seungcheol reached out to get outside help for sensitive tasks like this one, but it wasn’t really a task he’d send any of his boys to do. The only candidate he’d considered was Junhui, who’d turned it down - while he was good at toying with people, he much preferred the meetings to end in combat. This one was meant to be subtle and silent, something the victim wouldn't suspect.

But it was something they needed to do. They’d been reckless and things had gone wrong, leaving too much evidence lying around that could very easily be used against them, so they needed to start playing defense, and fast. 

Thankfully, Seungkwang had heard a rumor about a high ranked police officer that had more power to his position than most people thought, and after digging further into it, gathered enough information on the man for them to be able to turn it against him. 

“Not a problem. Just hook me up with some equipment.” Jeonghan responded.

“I’ll have one of my boys bring some appropriate equipment for you that we can easily hide. I want you to come here approximately an hour before you are meant to show up at the event, so that we can get you fitted and all set.” 

“Alright.” Jeonghan replied.

“That was all, you can leave now.” Seungcheol stated, gesturing with his hands as he spoke. Jeonghan bowed slightly and moved to stand up from his chair, while Seungcheol placed his hands on the arms of his leather chair, the material making a slight noise under his hands as he grasped it. 

“Oh, and Jeonghan?” Seungcheol called out, making sure to grab the other man’s attention before he could turn around to leave. He paused until Jeonghan’s eyes were on him, making sure he was listening. “Don’t disappoint me.” 

For the first time since meeting him, Jeonghan cracked a smile, the tension sliding off his body as a small laughter escaped his lips. “Oh, don’t worry, I never do.” 

Seungcheol watched after the other man walk towards the door and out of it, leaving him alone in his office, a small smirk residing on his lips. It wasn’t up until those final words that Seungcheol knew fully that he chose right. 

\--

The sound of a bullet hitting metal chimed loudly into the silent night. An intact glass bottle rested on top of a metal box, which probably used to be a microwave at some point, which sat on top of an old, upbeat and destroyed washing machine, while the car behind it had yet another dent made by a bullet in it’s passenger side door. 

“Try again.” Mingyu said, his words brief, yet held no urgency or rush in them. Letting out a sigh, Soonyoung raised his arms again, doing the best he could to aim at the glass bottle. To his right was Junhui, sitting on the roof of a busted car, rhythmically flickering on his lighter, letting the flames linger for only a few seconds. The noise was distracting, but in some twisted kind of way, it was probably his intention for one reason or the other. 

They’d made this little corner of the junkyard their own a long time ago. Mingyu said that he’d frequently visited this are since he was a tween, and Wonwoo, who showed it to him, had been visiting it for even longer. It was the perfect setup for a shooting range, which probably explained why Mingyu and Wonwoo were their main gun-men. 

On top of the noise coming from Junhui and his lighter, there was a faint noise of a car engine somewhere in the distance. Further away from them, there was an overpass that a lot of cars drove on, but the noise from there hardly reached them, and hardly anyone used the roads nearby, especially at nearly two in the morning. If anyone was around, it was usually the cops, or some other criminals.

Letting his hands slack down a little, Soonyoung looked over his shoulder to see if Mingyu had picked up on the noise. Junhui either hadn’t, or it didn’t phase him, because he kept up his rhythm. Mingyu, on the other hand, had shifted his head slightly into the direction of the noise, expression as blank as it had been. The noise was still very faint, and if there wasn’t dead silence, they wouldn’t have heard it at all, but the car was definitely coming their way. 

Shifting his glance back to Soonyoung, Mingyu approached him, placing his hands on Soonyoung’s person - straightening his arms, making sure the gun was pointed accurately, and moved his head back towards the bottle, making him fix his gaze upon it. 

This was the third time they went out and practiced like this. Soonyoung’s strong point was hand-to-hand combat and melee weapons, but his skills with guns was so bad he really felt like it was time to train himself if he wanted to stick around for longer. Junhui hadn’t gone with them before, but had asked to tag along this time, just to watch. Soonyoung hadn’t really questioned it. 

Mingyu took a step back, and then murmured softly, “Take a shot.”, signaling that the situation was safe. 

Soonyoung exhaled, letting his body relax, and focused on the bottle. He squeezed the trigger gently, bracing himself for the small recoil he’d get from the handgun he was using. This time, the sound of glass shattering sounded through the air, and a smile overtook the boy’s previously serious features. 

“Good.” Mingyu commented from somewhere behind him. Soonyoung let his hands falter slightly, shifting so that he was only holding his gun in one hand, and dropped them to his sides. Mingyu was already at the washing machine, picking up the third bottle of the night, out of seven, and placed it on top of the box. He stepped back, walking back to standing somewhere behind Soonyoung. 

He grasped the gun in both of his hands, holding up his hands only slightly so that the gun was still pointed towards the ground, and turned just enough so that he could see Mingyu from the corner of his eyes. “You don’t think that’s a cop?” He asked, concern showing in his voice at the sound of the car that was only getting closer and closer. 

Junhui snorted, causing Soonyoung to turn to him instead. “Whoever it is, we don’t need to worry, especially if it’s a cop. It’s probably just passing by, anyway.” 

“How effective was this blackmailing?” Mingyu questioned, only making Soonyoung realize that he really needed to pay more attention when _official business information_ was mentioned to him by the other two leaders.

Technically, Seungcheol was their leader, but as their little family grew and things got more complicated, he appointed Jihoon and Soonyoung himself as leaders, too. It only really meant that they had more authority than the rest, a little bit more flexibility and a louder voice, but they were still a rank below Seungcheol. 

“Very.” Junhui responded, amusement clear in his voice, speaking not having an effect on his rhythm with the lighter. “I gotta admit, I was doubting it when our dear leader picked up some random guy recommended by some other guy he knows to do such a fragile task, but he got us enough footage for us to be able to rob a bank in broad daylight and get away with it.” 

“The blackmailing of the police officer or whatever?” Soonyoung asked, turning to Mingyu, getting a nod in response from the other. He remembered Hansol telling him something about needing to ready up equipment for the job. It had sounded so far stretched - getting enough dirt on such a high ranked and powerful individual within the police and have it actually work. Somehow they apparently had managed to make it work and, well, Soonyoung wasn’t complaining. 

“You were out of town when that happened, I think. It was like two or so weeks ago?” Junhui added. “Explains why everyone’s been in such a good mood lately.” 

“It does.” Mingyu said. “Again.” He added, motioning towards the bottle.

“Just don’t get cocky just because we have this advantage. If we push it too far it might not matter.” Soonyoung advised them, raising the gun in his grip.

Soonyoung shot the bottle on his first attempt, only with some minor adjustments in his position from Mingyu. The fifth bottle of the night was placed on the metal box, but this time, Soonyoung had a much harder time hitting it. The car sounded far too close now, and that mixed with Junhui’s lighter made everything far too distracting, making it all the more difficult for Soonyoung to aim. After taking two shots that went into the car behind it, Mingyu told him to calm down, but there was a hint of concern in his voice, a hint he didn’t manage to conceal, making Soonyoung all that more tense. 

Taking a deep breath and letting it go, Soonyoung made an attempt to calm himself down, telling himself silently third time’s the charm and tried to block out the noises. He aimed, holding his arms in the right position, like Mingyu had showed him many times before, and squeezed the trigger. The sound of the bottle smashing simultaneously washed relief over his body, and he felt the tension slip right off him as he let his hands fall to the side. 

Mingyu didn’t replace the bottle. He stood still long enough for Soonyoung to turn to face him with a questioning look, only to have his tension coil right back up. The car was in the junk yard, he could tell by the sound of the wheels driving along the dirt and rock filled road. Junhui kept up his rhythm with the lighter up until the car was alarmingly close, if Soonyoung had to guess, it was right next to them, on the other side of the wall of junk that shielded them from view. 

“Wait here, I’ll go check it out.” Junhui told them, closing his lighter and hopping off the car, placing the lighter into his pocket as he moved alongside the wall towards the small opening that let them out of this little clearing. 

The two of them stood still, Soonyoung hardly daring to breathe too loudly, focusing as much as he could on listening. A few seconds after Junhui disappeared from view, the car came to a stop and soon after, the engine was turned off.

“Hand me my gun back.” Mingyu whispered and Soonyoung jogged over to him, handing the gun over immediately, and kept to his side, eyes darting around the area to look for something he could use as a blunt object in case it was needed. 

A door was opened and closed after two feet hit the ground. A door was opened again, and something was heard dragging alongside the ground, followed with a grunt that sounded like a _'Get out'_. The door was closed again and the person took a few steps before stopping again, this time opening the trunk, closing it almost immediately afterwards, and something was placed on the ground, a container of some sorts, Soonyoung assumed by the sounds. 

Again, the person took only a few steps, but then a new noise sounded, like something colliding with something soft, followed by a muffled, pained grunt. “You’re pathetic.” They heard the person speak - a man, by the sounds of it. “You’re nothing but a worthless piece of shit, but you know that, don’t you?”

Soonyoung looked over at Mingyu, who met his eyes briefly.

That was no cop.

Well, it was highly unlikely. 

“Get up.” Was grunted, and some noises Soonyoung couldn’t make sense of sounded in the darkness. Something scraped the ground, what Soonyoung presumed to be the container, which sounded like it was filled with some kind of liquid. The persons, which he guessed were two from how the man talked, walked more distance than before, but didn’t go very far. Something collided with the ground again, which Soonyoung guessed was the second person. 

A nasty chuckle sounded faintly. “Idiot. Thinking you could leave me.” A strange noise sounded for a second before something clearly plastic was dropped to the ground. “You think you can just get a little bit of cash, doing god knows what, and run off, just like that?” 

Soonyoung’s stomach dropped as he heard the very distinct noise of a good amount of liquid hitting the ground. Mingyu picked up on it instantly, too, his entire body tensing, the grip on his gun getting tighter. 

“What were you going to do? Where were you going to go?”

The sound of liquid hitting the ground kept sounding again and again, making Soonyoung more and more uneasy, the image of what was about to happen clear in his mind. His mind felt a bit more at ease when he saw Junhui’s figure appear again, looking alert, and Mingyu moved to him instantly, causing Soonyoung to follow.

“You’re nothing without me. You’ve never had any purpose in life.” 

The three of them ran as quietly as they could through the small opening - Mingyu almost forgetting to duck under a piece of wood the shorter ones could always walk under with ease. 

“I saved you, don’t you remember? I saved you, I made you, I own you, so now I’m going to destroy you.” 

Junhui ran straight through and into the open, while Mingyu froze just at the exit, causing Soonyoung to have to push him a little to get him to move past. Once Mingyu did, he had a clear view of what was happening right in front of him, making him understand why Mingyu froze. 

A middle aged man was standing several meters from his car, a medium sized container, no doubt holding gasoline, was next to his feet, and in front of the man was a much younger man, probably around their age, tied up, a duct-tape over his mouth, eyes wide and frightened, and he was absolutely _soaked_. 

“No one will miss you.” The man spoke, cruelty lacing his voice. “No one cares about you.” 

A noise sounded, a flicker of a lighter, and if Soonyoung hadn’t been staring right at the man, watching him flicker on his lighter, he would have thought it was Junhui. 

Mingyu picked up his gun, pointing it straight at the man, his face hard. “Hey!” He barked at the man, gaining his attention. He also gained the attention of the young man, who just looked even more frightened to Soonyoung. But the man only grinned upon seeing them, a sick, twisted grin that made Soonyoung sick to his stomach. He’d seen people like this before and felt a bit more safe knowing that an armed Mingyu stood by his side, regretting having not picked up the steel pipe he spotted in the shooting range.

Any false sense of hope, any kind of positive feeling was wiped away instantly as the man stretched out his hand holding the lighter, the small, fragile flame looking like the world’s most dangerous weapon in his hands, right over the patch of oil. 

“ _Fuck_.” Junhui whispered, and then he was gone from Soonyoung’s side. Before he could even process that Junhui was sprinting straight towards danger, and in a very brief motion, Mingyu pointed the gun downwards, shooting the man in his left thigh. 

The man screamed out, dropping down onto the ground, but he held onto the lighter for dear life, the small flicker of light remaining strong through the fall, and dropped alongside his hand into the pool of gasoline. 

Just as the shot rang out, the young man was smart enough to instantly start to attempt to roll himself away from danger. Junhui was fast, sprinting right through the puddle of gasoline, and right before the man hit the ground, managed to grab a hold of the young man and drag him further away, the action causing him to fall over, but he just readjusted his grip, dragging him further away by kicking his feet, away from the gasoline that was starting to be affected by the flame. 

In the blink of an eye, the patch in front of them went up in flames - the man alongside it. He screamed out, a scream of pure and absolute agony, causing Soonyoung to flinch. He’d seen a lot of horrible things in his lifetime, he’d seen a lot of pain and death, but this was a first. He felt the longing to cover his ears, to cover his eyes, to seek out someone’s comfort and to hide. But Mingyu was the only one by his side, and he had an unfamiliar look of absolute despair on his face, the gun shaking in his grip, eyes unable to tear away from the screaming man. 

There was a slight trail of fire away from the patch, no doubt left by the young man as he rolled himself away, but Junhui had managed to drag him further, away from the harm of the flames, and was currently half-cradling him to his chest, as the two of them stared into the flames. The young man’s eyes were wide with terror and if it wasn’t for the duct-tape, Soonyoung was sure he’d be screaming bloody murder. 

A distinct smell rose up, making Soonyoung’s stomach turn, the man’s screaming not helping. It took him an agonizingly long time to finally become quiet, to finally stop twitching, to finally die. Taking a shaky breath, Soonyoung turned to look at Mingyu, whose eyes were welling up with tears, either from the smoke or from the fact that he’d just had to witness a gruesome death that had arguably been his fault. 

Glancing from Mingyu and back towards the flame, Soonyoung felt his eyes well up with tears as well. Sleeping alone would be difficult after witnessing this, even though the man hadn’t appeared to be a good one. 

But in a way, neither was Soonyoung, or Mingyu, or Junhui, or any of them for that matter. 

They were a part of an organized crime organization. They were a part of a gang - had deliberately joined, and were well aware of their actions and the consequences they had. Most of them tried to justify their actions to themselves, arguing that they only hurt other bad people, but all sugar-coating aside, the truth was that they were further spreading pain to the world - the pain that caused a lot of them to head down this path.

They could lie to themselves all they want, tell themselves, _well, at least I don’t light innocent people on fire_ , but what difference did it make, burning a bad person, or burning a good person? In the end, it all boiled down to the fact that a human life had just been lost.

Sometimes, lying to themselves was what they had to do to cope, to continue.

Soonyoung’s eyes were torn from the flames as he heard shuffling over the crackling fire and saw that the young man was trying, rather unsuccessfully, to move away from Junhui, who had his hands in the air, a switchblade resting on one of it, trying to show the young man that he wasn’t going to hurt him. 

“Hey, it’s okay - it’s okay!” Junhui tried to reason with him. “I’m just going to cut the rope around your arms, okay?”

The young man stopped moving away, but flinched as Junhui started moving closer, trying to make himself as small as he possibly could in defense. Junhui cut the rope tying his arms back and then moved into his view again, showing him how he placed the switchblade back into the holster, and pocketed the knife.

“See? It’s okay, we’re not going to hurt you. Now, I’m going to remove the tape from your mouth, okay?” As gently as he could, Junhui removed the tape, letting the silver strip fall to the ground. 

Soonyoung’s attention was torn from the two of them to Mingyu, who had walked a bit away from him. The light of his phone lit up his features, making it all the more clear how distressed he was, and then the screen turned black as he held the phone up to his ear. 

“Seungcheol,” Mingyu spoke, his voice cracking in the process. He took a moment to gather himself before continuing. “Some unexpected shit went down, can you send for help?” There was a brief silence, Soonyoung using that opportunity to glance over to the two men. Junhui kept his distance from the young man, who had his arms wrapped protectively around his middle. 

“Medical attention of one person, body disposal of one body, and a fire extinguisher.” Mingyu spoke up, making Soonyoung focus on him again. “N-no, we’re all okay, it’s someone else. But - we can’t just leave him, y’know?” A moment passed. “Yeah, the body and the fire are related. ... Y-Yeah, thank you. See you.” 

“They’re on the way?” Soonyoung questioned, loudly enough to be heard by Junhui, who glanced their way for a moment. 

“Yeah.” Mingyu breathed out, placing his phone in his pocket, and rubbed his face. “I just-” He turned around, eyes darting over the area to find something suitable to sit on. The ruined couch next to the opening they’d gotten through wasn’t ideal - who knows who’d done what on that - but there was a flat, elevated surface made out of some unrecognizable junk big enough for the both of them that Mingyu settled on, moving towards it with Soonyoung in tow. 

Watching them move further away, Junhui turned his eyes upon the young man, who was watching the fire with distance clouding his eyes, probably in shock over the whole situation. “We should probably move further away.” 

The man didn’t respond, so Junhui got to his feet, suddenly more aware than before that the lower half of his shoes were wet from the gasoline. He reached out his hand to the man, who didn’t seem to even notice him, so he reached down and gently grasped his arm. Flickering his eyes towards Junhui, the man made an attempt to stand up as Junhui pulled him up with as much care he could, but once he put pressure on his legs to hoist himself up he screamed out, jerking away from Junhui with force he hadn’t braced himself for, so he slipped out of his grasp, and fell rather harshly back to the ground, his left shoulder and side taking most of the fall, causing a second pained scream to come from him. 

“Fuck, I’m sorry, I didn’t-” Junhui began, but cut himself off, crouching down in front of him. He waited a bit until the man’s chest had stopped heaving and the pained expression on his face had washed out a bit. “Can you scoot yourself back?”

“I-I don’t - I don’t know.” The man responded, but bit down on his lip and made an attempt to move back. It was a slow process, but he managed to get himself back far enough for Junhui to no longer worry about the flames catching some spot of gasoline around them and setting them suddenly aflame. 

It was dark out and the flames did a poor job of lighting up the other man, but he had soft features. He was very beautiful, as a matter of fact, despite there being a scabbed over cut on his lip, a fading black eye on his left eye and his strangely cut hair that was all in a disarray. There was odd discoloring on his neck that Junhui couldn’t see very well, and judging by the way he couldn’t even stand up, there were probably multiple injuries he couldn’t see. 

His arms that were wrapped around his middle now looked less like a protective body gesture and more like he was cradling a pained body part.

Time ticked by slowly as they waited. If it wasn’t for off-putting smell Soonyoung had never experienced before (and would probably have been better off never having done so), he would have been able to trick his mind into thinking this was just another ordinary night, only this one ended with a bonfire. Junhui and that man sitting across from them almost looked peaceful, both of them keeping their eyes on the fire, while Mingyu was very frigid next to him.

Soonyoung had no idea how much time had passed when his ears finally caught onto the sound of a car. A knot formed in his stomach and he tensed, uncertain if it was cop that had been alerted about the fire, or the other members of the gang providing them with aid. Mingyu, somehow, managed to become even more tense, to the point where Soonyoung was sure it was possible to snap him in half. 

Glancing to his side, Soonyoung could see that Junhui was keeping his eyes on the other man instead of the fire, but he kept on staring ahead into the fire, unfazed by the noise, even as it drew closer. 

Soonyoung felt relief wash over himself as two familiar cars rolled into the junkyard, but next to him, Mingyu remained tense as ever. As the cars came to a halt and the engines were turned off, Mingyu stood up, taking two small steps forward, but stopped, his hands coming together nervously. 

Out of the first car stepped Seungcheol and Jisoo, the latter immediately placing a hand over his nose, muttering to himself, “Oh, god, what is that smell?”. Wonwoo and Jihoon stepped out of the second car, parked just behind the first one. Seungcheol and Wonwoo made their way towards where Soonyoung and Mingyu were standing, Jisoo went towards the man and Junhui, while Jihoon grabbed a fire extinguisher from the car and went to work on smothering the flames. 

“What happened?” Seungcheol inquired as he reached Mingyu and Soonyoung, Wonwoo right behind his steps, eyeing Mingyu with concern. 

“We were at the shooting range when we heard a car come,” Mingyu explained, motioning to the third car in the area. “Junhui went to check it out while we held back, but then we heard some guy screaming nonsense. Junhui went back to get us just about the moment when the guy was dousing another guy he had all tied up - in gasoline.” 

Wonwoo glanced over his shoulder briefly, towards where Jisoo and Junhui were, and Mingyu bit his lip. “He was going to light him on fire so I pointed my gun at him and called out to him, trying to get him to back off. He didn’t so I - I shot him in the leg because I thought that maybe... maybe he’d lose the grip he had on his lighter, or it would fall from the gasoline.” Mingyu paused to take a faintly shaky breath. “But it didn’t. He went up in flames.” 

“Not the other one?” Seungcheol questioned. 

“No,” Soonyoung took over. “He managed to roll himself away a bit - then Junhui pulled him out of there just in time.” 

Seungcheol nodded, glancing at Mingyu who had lowered his head, either in shame for having not been able to handle the situation or simply because he was overwhelmed by the events of the night, so their leader turned his eyes upon Soonyoung. “Guy’s over there?” He questioned and beckoned his head to somewhere behind him. 

“Yeah.” Soonyoung replied, leading him to where he was, while Wonwoo stuck to Mingyu’s side. Jihoon had managed to extinguish the flames, an unmistakable charred corpse lying in the middle of the field, one which Soonyoung deliberately averted his eyes from, while Jihoon looked at it like trash he was uncertain in which bin he was supposed to place it. 

One of the cars was shielding Junhui and the others from view, but once Soonyoung passed it, he saw that Junhui was still keeping his distance, while Jisoo was very gently examining the other man’s ankle, who now kept his gaze upon the charred corpse. 

“Jeonghan?” Soonyoung heard Seungcheol breathe out from behind him, and it instantly caught the attention of the man, Jeonghan, whose eyes widened upon seeing Seungcheol. The two kept eye content for a moment, both frozen upon seeing each other, but then Jeonghan’s eyes welled up and he bit his lip, averting his gaze to the ground. 

“Huh, small world.” Junhui muttered, but it only added onto Soonyoung’s confusion as to how Seungcheol knew this guy. 

Seungcheol crouched down next to Jeonghan, while Soonyoung took a step back, a small gesture to give them a bit more space. “Jeonghan, what happened?” 

“You need to leave.” Jeonghan replied swiftly. 

“Huh?” Seungcheol breathed out. 

“You need to leave.” Jeonghan repeated himself, his voice much stronger this time, and lifted his head up to return his tearful eyes upon Seungcheol again, but his cheeks were dry. “He’s got an important position - they’ll look for him.” 

“We’ll take care of it, they won’t find him-” 

“ _No_ , no, you _don’t understand_!” Jeonghan cut him off, sounding more erratic. He brought his hands up and tangled them in his hair, cradling his head. “They’ll look for him, they won’t stop, just leave - _leave_.” 

“But what about you?” Jisoo questioned calmly, voice not resembling his tense and somewhat frightened expression. 

“Just leave - I’ll stay. Gi-Give me the gun, I’ll say I did it.” 

“Not a chance.” Seungcheol replied immediately, his response riling Jeonghan up.

“I’ve got nothing to lose!” Jeonghan responded, raising his voice, which cracked on the last word, tears finally spilling out of his eyes. “I have nothing - _I am nothing_!” 

Silence struck them after his words. A part of Soonyoung wanted to comfort him, tell him that it wasn’t true, especially after hearing how the man had spoken to him, but he didn’t think his words would carry any meaning to the man, not in this state.

“Just leave...” Jeonghan whispered, the arms grasping his head starting to shake. 

“If we leave, then what?” Seungcheol asked with a vague hint of exhaustion. ”What are you going to do? You won’t go far in this state.” 

“It doesn’t matter.” Jeonghan retorted, his voice cracking. 

“You’re coming back with us.” Seungcheol said, authority seeping into his voice. “Look, we’re already involved in this mess, and you’re exhausted. We have painkillers and clean clothes and a place for you to sleep - we’ll make a decision once you’ve woken up again.” 

“Just-” 

“We’re not leaving you behind.” Seungcheol cut him off, his words final.

Jeonghan didn’t respond, instead he let go of his hair with one hand and brought it to rub against his forehead, a small sob escaping his lips as his breathing got more labored. Seungcheol straightened himself up into a standing position, nudging his head towards the car. 

“He can’t walk.” Jisoo explained briefly, placing himself on Jeonghan’s right side, and in the blink of an eye, Junhui was on the other side of him. 

“Soonyoung, a word.” Seungcheol said, not waiting for him to respond before walking towards Jihoon. Gulping, Soonyoung followed him, hoping his mind was just being unreasonable thinking he was about to earn himself a scolding. 

Jihoon was leaning against the third car, belonging to the now deceased man, arms crossed over his chest, waiting patiently for Seungcheol and Soonyoung. Not too far away were Wonwoo and Mingyu, Wonwoo catching their leader’s eye and giving him a nod before leading Mingyu away with an arm around his waist, Soonyoung catching a glimpse of red rimmed eyes of the younger before he ducked his head, letting himself be lead towards one of their cars. 

“We’ve got a long night ahead of us.” Seungcheol informed them, earning himself a snort from Jihoon.

“I figured. What about the guy?” He asked, motioning with his head towards to where the two had just been. 

“Jeonghan’s coming back with us, for tonight at least.” Seungcheol replied.

Jihoon raised his eyebrows. “Jeonghan? Same guy you hired on the blackmailing contract?”

“Same guy.” Seungcheol confirmed, and things finally came together in Soonyoung’s head. 

“Oh.” Soonyoung breathed out.

“Anyway, we’ve got a body and a car on our hands we need to get rid of. The list will probably be longer after I talk to Jeonghan once we’re back.” Seungcheol started, using his fingers to list off the things. “I want Hansol to look at the car, see if there’s something on it that we need to rip off first before we get it demolished.” 

“I’ll handle the body.” Jihoon said. “Leave Wonwoo and one of the cars here.” 

With that, they headed back, Soonyoung taking the man’s car, who had thankfully left the keys in the ignition, and Mingyu sat in the passenger’s side, while the rest of them took one of their own car. 

Soonyoung drove after Seungcheol, keeping close to him, which was an easy task, considering it was almost three in the morning and there were hardly any cars around. Generally, it would have been a twenty minute drive, but the conditions allowed them to go faster than they normally would be able to. 

Mingyu was silent up until the final minutes of the drive, having spent the time before that looking out the window silently. “I’m sorry.” 

“You saved a life, Mingyu.” Soonyoung stated, and it was true. When Mingyu shot him, it earned Jeonghan a very small, but very precious amount of time, just enough for him to be able to roll away; just enough for Junhui to reach him and pull him away. 

“I know.” Mingyu replied quietly, staying silent for a few seconds before continuing. “It’s just... it’s such a horrible way to go.” 

“I know.” Soonyoung echoed him.

It hadn’t been the first time Mingyu took someone’s life, nor would it probably be the last time, but his methods were always lethal - they were instant, quick with minimal pain. The man’s screams would likely keep Mingyu up at night, too. 

They were silent after that, for the last few minutes until they reached their headquarters. It was an impressive base for a group of such young people. Most gangs their age were street gangs, scraping by in rough neighborhoods while still living with their parents. The three story high building allowed them all to live together if they wished to, in a fenced off area in the parts of town no one really visited or asked questions about. The first floor served as a workshop, both for cars and tinkering on other items, while the second floor was made up of a large living area that was connected to a kitchen, a bathroom, and three offices, belonging respectively to Seungcheol, who got the biggest one, Jihoon, and Soonyoung. The third floor was the living quarters, made up out of two bathrooms, various rooms, and a small corner that served as a second, much smaller living room. 

Seungcheol and Jihoon had been the ones to start it all, at an age that was far too young for something so cruel, and had branched out, recruiting members and making deals, until they’d worked themselves up from nothing and into this base. 

Most of them were runaways or otherwise people who had cut off all ties with their old life, while some of them were still in touch with their parents, but lived away from them and visited them when they could, to help ensure their safety.

The garage door was open for them when they got to the base and as Soonyoung drove the car in slowly and parked it, Jeonghan was already being carried towards the stairs, which would probably prove to be a slow process, while Seungcheol was speaking with Hansol, who stood there with his hair in a disarray wearing his pajamas, looking like he had no business being there. 

Turning off the car but leaving the keys in the ignition, Soonyoung got out of the car to give Hansol some space to snoop around, but lingered around them, giving the three of them enough time to go up both flights of ladders. After several minutes, Soonyoung headed upstairs, Mingyu following him like his shadow. 

The muffled sound of the shower welcomed them as they reached the top floor, where Jisoo stood nearby the stairs, greeting them with a tired, but bright smile. How he could smile after all that, Soonyoung didn’t know.

“Junhui is helping him shower and they’ve got spare clothes in there, I let Jeonghan borrow some of mine, we seem to be the same body type.” Jisoo explained, keeping his voice just above a whisper, as a few more of them were sleeping soundly in the other rooms. “I’m gonna go prepare a place for him to sleep in my room, and I’ve got to take a proper look at him once he’s done in the shower, and I think Seungcheol also wants to speak with him before he goes to sleep, so could either one of you alert him once he’s out?”

“I’ll do it.” Mingyu responded immediately, with enough urgency to his voice that it made Soonyoung stay quiet.

\--

The clock read 3:48 when Seungcheol entered the room, Jisoo leaving instantly upon his arrival to give the two some space. Jeonghan had been watching the clock ever since Jisoo started properly looking him over for injuries and treating them if he could, which had been seventeen minutes ago, as an attempt to distract himself, both from the pain and as an attempt to keep himself from flinching every time Jisoo laid his hands on a new body part or moved his hands too quickly. Jisoo was gentle and extremely kind to him, but he couldn’t help it, not after what he’d just been through those last couple of days. 

Seungcheol sat on the bed opposite his - Jisoo’s bed, and watched Jeonghan for a few seconds, long enough for the digital clock to switch the eight for a nine. “How are you?”

Jeonghan almost replied with a ' _better_ ', but bit his words back, knowing it wouldn’t be an honest answer. “I don’t know.” He replied instead, his voice barely above a whisper. 

“I know you’re tired, but I need a little bit more information from you, so that we can properly hide our steps.” Seungcheol told him. “Do you remember where he lived?”

“He lived in two places.” Jeonghan informed him, voice a little husky from his exhaustion. “One with his family where he lived during the weekends, and one with me, where he lived during the weekdays.”

“So we only have to focus on the second apartment?” Seungcheol asked after a few seconds, having given Jeonghan a moment to see if he was going to continue or not. His question earned him a nod and the address from the other, whose eyes hadn’t left the clock since he walked in the room. “Once they realize he’s disappeared, you’re likely going to be one of the primary suspects. I’m going to have a few of my boys go over there to wipe the apartment clean of you, is there anything specific we should know about? Anything important or noteworthy, easily glanced over, any kind of safe, or anything like that?”

“There’s a safe behind the bed.” Jeonghan said, leaving the last word on a note like he was going to continue, but stopped himself as his mind made a connection, causing memories best forgotten to flood back. The man had kept money in the safe, wads of cash he obtained one way or the other - and that was probably where Jeonghan’s payment was - the payment from Seungcheol. 

Jeonghan had tried to hide it, hidden deep in a drawer belonging to himself, inside a sock, hidden in the hood of one of his hoodies. But he’d found it, how, Jeonghan didn’t know, but he did, and had demanded to know where he’d gotten it. 

At first he thought he’d stolen it, angrily pushing the bed away to check his safe, but everything was still there, untouched. Jeonghan didn’t even know the code - he’d tried cracking it before. So he’d demanded to know where Jeonghan had gotten it, how he’d worked up this high of an amount when he wasn’t supposed to leave the apartment - wasn’t supposed to venture out or reach out to anyone else. Wasn’t supposed to exist to anyone else but him.

Jeonghan had argued back, not the first time he’d done that, but he’d never seen him so angry before and should probably have kept his mouth shut, because that was when the first hit came his way, his fist colliding with Jeonghan’s left eye. 

Still, Jeonghan had refused to explain where the cash had come from, knowing that if he’d spill the beans on Seungcheol he’d just have an even bigger problem on his hands, and the man had stormed off in a rage. 

He left him alone for the remainder of the day, but the next morning he asked Jeonghan again, and that time it didn’t end with just a single punch. The beating continued the day after that, which was when Jeonghan tried to run away, without any money. The attempt failed and resulted in him bound up and gagged in the trunk of the man’s car. 

“I don’t know the code but my fingerprints are on some of the cash in there.” Jeonghan spoke again after a long stretch of silence, one which Seungcheol had patiently waited through. “No one knows about me. Not his family, co-workers, neighbours, no one. I stopped existing to anyone but him two years ago.” 

Seungcheol stayed silent, on purpose, Jeonghan figured, as a way to get him to continue talking, and it was working. His right hand traveled absent minded up to his neck, index finger gently running down the bruised skin, feeling a faint soreness under his touch. “He was never cruel, just overly controlling. I didn’t care. But then I tried to leave.” 

“He won’t touch you again.” Seungcheol spoke, finally, and the corner of Jeonghan’s lips twitched upwards. He lifted his hand away from his neck to stroke down his hair, wincing slightly at how uneven and patchy it was after having been held down and had it forcibly, badly cut. 

Jeonghan was glad there wasn’t a mirror in this room. He’d momentarily caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror of the bathroom and had promptly turned away in disgust from his own reflection, stubbornly keeping his eyes from it after that. Jisoo had promised to give him a haircut, telling him he’d make him look good, but Jeonghan wasn’t so sure he could save his hair at all without giving him a buzz cut. 

“Is that all?” Seungcheol asked. If Jeonghan couldn’t see him in the corner of his eyes, he would have thought it was some other man sitting opposite him, not the same confident man reeking of authority he’d met two weeks ago. This one was soft, gentle, like he was handling something fragile. It was almost pathetic.

“He generally left for work around six-thirty, sometimes earlier.” The clock on the small night stand read 4:02. They had three hours until people would start asking questions. 

“Alright.” Seungcheol responded, and it was as if though he’d read Jeonghan’s mind. “I’ll send a team over there to quickly take care of things. We’ll wipe everything clean of finger prints, from the walls to the silverware, crack open the safe, grab everything that looks like it belongs to you, and change the sheets. If my boys do a good job, which I expect they will, there won’t be a trace of you in there.” 

Seungcheol got up from the bed and reached into his pocket, grabbing his phone and quickly typed out something in it, placing it back into his pocket once he finished. He gave Jeonghan a final glance over and then started heading towards the door. 

He knew they were on a time limit, the clock ticking away precious minutes, but the words were already spilling out of Jeonghan’s mouth before he could stop himself. “Why are you helping me?”

Seungcheol’s hand was in the air, halfway through reaching to open the door, so he laid it down to rest on the door handle, turning to face Jeonghan, who finally had torn his eyes from the clock, their eyes meeting. 

“Honestly speaking, because we’re involved in this, too.” Seungcheol answered. “But I would be lying if I said that you aren’t tugging on some strings in my heart.” 

The response left Jeonghan speechless, his mind unable to comprehend what exactly he meant with that, leaving him uncertain of his motives. But even so, he felt himself remain calm. 

“But don’t mistake me for a good person. I’ve done a lot of bad things.”

“We’re all capable of terrible things.” Jeonghan responded. “Some more than others.” 

Seungcheol nodded in agreement, a small smile forming on his lips. “You should rest, now. You’ve earned it.” 

“Thank you.” Jeonghan said softly, trying express how grateful he was, but he wasn’t sure if it showed.

Seungcheol nodded once again, but this time, left. The door didn’t even close, Jisoo slipping through once Seungcheol had left, so quickly it was like he’d been waiting for them to finish, and closed it behind him. 

“Feeling okay? I brought you an ice pack.” Jisoo said, bright as ever, and held up something wrapped in a towel in his hand. “Alright, let’s lay you down, do you need any help?”

Jeonghan shook his head and scooted over on the bed, trying to position himself so that he could lie down in the most painless way. It took a moment, but soon enough, he was lying, and Jisoo seated himself at the end of the bed, placing the towel-wrapped ice pack on his swollen ankle. 

“You can go to sleep, I’ll take care of this.” Jisoo told him and Jeonghan didn’t even respond, eyes fluttering shut, finally able to rest. 

\--

Jeonghan wound up sleeping for thirteen hours. The first thing he noticed when he woke up was the faint smell of gasoline, causing him to jerk away, fear instantly latching onto him, but it only made him hiss out in pain, his left side aching, his head pounding, and he felt sore all over. 

Jisoo was instantly by his side, a gentle hand resting on his arm, voice soothing as he spoke. “Hey, it’s okay, you’re safe.” It took a few seconds, but soon enough everything came flooding back to Jeonghan, the events of the night before and how he wound up where he was. He breathed in deeply, feeling a slight tinge of pain as he did so, which must have shown on his face. 

“I’m going to get you something to eat and some painkillers. I’ll be right back, okay?” He’d barely lifted himself from the bed when Jeonghan’s hand shot out to grab his arm, the action making him realize just how sore his entire body was. The words ' _please stay_ ' hadn’t rested on his tongue, but his body spoke for him, and Jisoo seemed to understand, lowering himself back onto the bed. 

“Okay,” He said slowly, reaching for the phone in his pocket with the hand Jeonghan didn’t hold onto, even if his grip was loosening, with some difficulty. “I’ll ask someone to bring it to us instead.” 

Jeonghan meant to thank him, but nothing escaped his mouth when he opened it to speak. His mouth was too dry and his throat too sore. 

Some time later the door was opened, a lanky boy with wide eyes and a nervous aura entered the room with a tray filled with a tall glass of water and various dishes, looking more out of place than Jeonghan actually was. 

“Thank you, Minghao.” Jisoo said when the boy had placed the tray onto the night stand. He opened his mouth, like he was going to say something, but shut it again, bowing slightly, and hurried out of the room. 

Jeonghan’s mind didn’t linger long on the boy, because what stood before him now was the task to sit up enough in the bed for him to be able to drink. There wasn’t a chance he could do it alone - not with his body so sore and his ankle so swollen it throbbed. But with patience and Jisoo’s help, he managed to pull himself up far enough without too much additional pain. 

Despite the state he was in, Jeonghan refused to let Jisoo help him drink, silently taking the glass from his hands with his weak and sore ones, resting his glass on a flat enough surface on the bed so that he could free one hand to place the pills in his mouth, and then brought the glass to his lips, gulping down the liquid. 

It burned, but the first sip just made him realize how thirsty he was, so he began chugging the liquid down, ignoring the pain in his throat every time he swallowed. But then he felt the glass being pulled away from him far too soon, hands too weak to fight against it, but he was still so thirsty and there was still a little water remaining in the glass, so he settled on giving Jisoo an annoyed glare. 

“You’re gonna wind up throwing up if you continue chugging like this.” Jisoo said, ignoring the look he was being given. Instead, he turned to the tray, grabbing a spoonful of something in a bowl, bringing it to Jeonghan’s lips, who admitted defeat instantly and opened his lips. It turned out to be oatmeal porridge - something he’d never been fond of but was too hungry to argue against. 

“That was one of our main muscles.” Jisoo explained, adding to his words when Jeonghan lifted his eyebrows in question. “Minghao.” 

Jeonghan’s eyebrows rose even higher, this time in surprise. “Mhm.” Jisoo hummed, amused, and brought another spoonful to Jeonghan’s lips, beginning a brief rundown on the rest of the members. 

\--

“ _\-- hasn’t been seen since he left work on Tuesday evening. The disappearance was discovered when his co-workers started questioning when he didn’t show up for work on Wednesday morning and were unable to contact him. They then contacted the police, who--_ ” 

“C’mon.” Jisoo said, wrapping his arm around Jeonghan’s waist, the two of them walking slowly ahead, out of the room he’d been holed up in for two days. This was the first time Jeonghan was venturing out of it, for something other than a bathroom break, after having been brought back. They made their way past another room, the door being slightly ajar, but no one seemed to be inside it. 

Things were slowly improving. He’d connected with Jisoo rather quickly, mostly due to how easy it was to get along with him. He was positive and kind, never questioning whether or not Jeonghan belonged there, instead he welcomed him instantly with open arms. Someone like him being in a gang wasn’t something Jeonghan had an easy time wrapping his head around, but it made it so that sometimes, Jeonghan forgot where he was and what kind of people he was around, and that his placement was likely not permanent. 

His injuries were getting better as time passed, and Jisoo did actually manage to save his hair without giving him a buzz-cut, but it was still far too short for Jeonghan’s liking. 

“ _\-- no sights of conflict were discovered in his apartment, but the police hasn’t ruled out--_ ”

They walked around the corner, a big flat-screen TV greeting them, the pictures of both the man and his car displayed on the screen, causing Jeonghan to freeze upon seeing his face again, and Jisoo patiently paused with him, only continuing their walk when Jeonghan initiated it. 

The pictures quickly changed to the man’s wife - someone Jeonghan had only seen in a picture he’d kept on the table close to the entrance of the apartment. It was odd to see her so life-like after he’d only seen her as displayed in a single photograph that was a few years old. She had tears in her eyes as she tried to keep her composure and talk with the interviewer, but Jeonghan felt no pity towards her. 

“Yeah, I’m sure he was a lovely man.” A voice sounded, dripping with sarcasm, belonging the guy who had greeted them in the garage when they entered the building. Most of the time from the car ride until Jeonghan took a shower was a blur, but he’d remembered the man, mostly due to his sharp features. 

“I mean, aside from the whole attempting to burn someone alive thing, I’m sure he was a lovely guy.” A second man spoke up someone Jeonghan hadn’t seen before, sarcasm apparent in his voice too.

“No, he was an asshole.” Jeonghan said, alerting them all of his presence. Even though he’d gained a lot of strength, he still sounded weak, something he couldn’t wait to get rid of. The man who had spoken instantly had guilt flash over his features and began stuttering out some kind of apology.

“Hey, shut up.” Jihoon hissed out, someone Jeonghan vaguely remembered, but instantly recognized after Jisoo’s explanation of the members. He didn’t ask twice, the entire room going silent instantly. Next to him was Seungcheol, unfazed by the whole thing, looking so serious and focused it might be mistaken for anger. 

The news program went on, this time onto an interview with a police officer talking about disappearances in general. Jisoo silently motioned towards the L-shaped couch that had enough room for both of them, since Seungcheol and Jihoon were standing, leaning against the wall, and the two guys and Minghao were sitting on the larger part of the couch, leaving the smaller part vacant. But Jeonghan shook his head, even though it wasn’t all too comfortable to stand, he valued being able to do so again after having been practically confined to the bed since he got here. 

The program ended, the news anchor telling the viewers they’d keep them updated, and went onto a different topic. Silence lingered in the air for a few more seconds, before the guy who’d greeted them in the garage turned to face Jihoon and Seungcheol. “Finding the car is probably one of their main priorities. It’s gone, right?”

Jihoon nodded. “Had it sprayed and changed the license plates, then took it to a junkyard and had it compressed and put fuck knows where in there. Paid the guy extra to shut him up and let him keep anything he could salvage from the car free of change. They won’t find it.” 

“And the body?” Minghao asked.

“Gone.” Jihoon responded, the finality in his voice making Jeonghan shudder and hope no one would inquire him further.

“Jeonghan.” Seungcheol spoke, expression having softened up just a touch. “Can I have a word?”

For some reason, Jeonghan expected Jisoo to react in some way, but he stayed still, head angled towards the three on the couch, as if though he hadn’t even heard the question. It wasn’t until Jeonghan nodded and Seungcheol closed the gap between them that Jisoo moved, sliding from Jeonghan’s side to be replaced by the leader. 

Seungcheol’s grip was a lot more firm than Jisoo’s gentle one, but there was a touch of softness to it, probably because of Jeonghan’s injuries. He was also more prone to leading Jeonghan, instead of letting him decide when to walk and how fast to go, like Jisoo had. 

“How do you feel?” Seungcheol asked after they’d crossed the distance from the living room and three quarters to the stairs. 

“Someone I trusted to sleep next to me tried to burn me alive, but out of pure coincidence wound up burning alive himself right in front of me, how do you think I feel?” Jeonghan replied, without any spite to his words. 

A soft chuckle sounded from the other. “Stupid question.” He remarked, more so to himself rather than Jeonghan. 

Silence lingered around them until they’d reached the stairs, slowing down to almost a halt, and Seungcheol turned his head towards Jeonghan, watching him carefully as they took the first step, making sure that he’d be able to lean on him and use the handle for support. “I’m... okay, I guess, considering, y’know, everything.” Jeonghan paused, concentrating on the next step. “Thanks to you.”

“It’s the least I can do.” Seungcheol replied, causing Jeonghan to laugh, but the laughter was cut short by a pained hiss. 

“I thought you were a bad man.” Jeonghan retorted, speaking as he walked down, slowly getting the hang of it. 

“I am.” 

“Whatever you say.” 

As they reached the final step, Jeonghan tightened his hold around Seungcheol, stepping down carefully. He took a moment to gather himself as they’d reached the end of the stairs, Seungcheol using that moment to downright stare at the other, eyes carefully looking him over. 

Eventually, Jeonghan took a step forward, allowing Seungcheol to take the lead as they started going again. On their way, they passed by Soonyoung, who offered them a friendly smile, but quickly averted his eyes, suddenly gaining a lot of interest in his phone. 

Their little trip ended in Seungcheol’s office. The leader closed the door behind them, helping Jeonghan to the chair he’d sat in when they first met, but the chair was twisted at an odd angle, turned towards the wall, with the desk on his right hand. Seungcheol disappeared behind the desk, noises disturbing the silence that made it clear that he was looking for something. 

"Soonyoung told me they grabbed most loose objects with them out of the apartment, it's in two or three bags, you might want to look over it and take what you own and what you want." Seungcheol said and then he reappeared, holding a towel wrapped around what could only be an ice pack, and grabbed his chair, rolling it to face Jeonghan.

He sat down into the chair, an oddly specific distance between the two that had Jeonghan furrowing his eyebrows, but things cleared up as soon as the other reached down, carefully grasping Jeonghan’s injured leg and brought it up to rest on his thigh, wrapping the towel-covered ice pack around it. 

Any kind of comment Jeonghan wanted to make about the leg situation died down instantly as he spotted the familiar wad of cash on the table that had been hidden beneath the towel. 

Following his gaze, Seungcheol reached out to the money, handing it over to Jeonghan, who hesitated in taking it. “I believe this belongs to you, unless he also tied his payments together with a red string.” 

It was odd to hold it in his hands again. He remembered the first time it was handed over to him - how it made him feel. He’d felt so hopeful, it was the key to everything, the solution to his unhappiness. His gateway, the door to a new life. It would be his new beginning, the thing that would lead him onto a path that would give his life meaning again. He'd exist again. 

Now it just felt like unremarkable, dirty paper lying in his hands. 

“Thank you.” Jeonghan said, his words so hollow it would have been better if he’d just stayed quiet. 

“You don’t seem so happy to have it back.” Seungcheol commented. 

Jeonghan sighed, taking care to not do so too deeply so that it wouldn’t sting as bad, and glanced down to the money in his lap. Of course he noticed. “I just...” His fingers started playing with the red string. “I don’t know what to do now.” 

“You could stay.” Seungcheol offered without skipping a beat, causing Jeonghan to exhale out his nose, a small smirk spreading on his lips. “I mean it.” Seungcheol emphasized, hands inching from where they’d been resting on the towel and up to the top of his foot, thumbs rubbing soothing circles on his skin. “You’re tough as nails, you have the capability to survive, and you’re a quick thinker. You can easily become a deadly weapon if you wish." He paused for a second, eyes flickering to the ground and mouth opening, like he was uncertain if he should speak his mind. "And, uh, after watching the footage you brought us, I’m going to have to agree with you - you don’t disappoint.” 

The remark caused Jeonghan to laugh, the smile remaining on his lips despite the blow delivered to his ribs, one hand going up to cover his mouth and nose while the other was placed gently over the pained area. “You pervert.” He glanced up, eyes meeting Seungcheol’s, his lips sporting a similar grin. 

“Well? Do you want to stay with us?”

“I don’t know, it’s not like you’re just asking me to join your secret sleepover club.” Jeonghan responded, causing the grin to grow wider on the other’s lips. 

“Eh, it’s basically what we are. Just with more murder and money laundering and the sorts.” Seungcheol moved his hands further up Jeonghan’s foot, practically giving him a foot massage at that point. 

“I’ll consider it.” 

\--

Reaching his hand up, Jeonghan tucked a stray lock that was hanging in front of his eyes behind his ear, cursing himself for having forgotten his hair tie. It was a lot harder to manage his hair, now that it reached a little below his shoulders, and it was still reeking of chemicals after yet another dye to make it remain light purple. 

Before his eyes lay multiple guns and a mountain of ammo. He picked up yet another handgun, checking to see if it was properly loaded. This one was, so he placed it in the black duffel bag next to him, and went onto checking the next one. 

Somewhere behind him, someone was heading his way, the footsteps echoing off the walls. A smile broke through on Jeonghan’s lips as familiar arms wrapped around his middle, a pair of lips planting a kiss on his cheek.

“Nervous?” Seungcheol asked, nuzzling the junction between his jaw and neck with his nose. 

“Nope.” Jeonghan replied, switching out an almost empty clip with a full one before placing the gun with the rest. “No better couple activity than long walks on the beach, watching a quality movie together, and committing murder.” 

Seungcheol left a trail of kisses alongside Jeonghan’s jaw. “Oh god, what have I created?”

Jeonghan pulled away, making the other emit a soft whine. “You didn’t do jack-shit besides point me towards that path. I was the one who walked it.” 

“I’m glad you did.” Seungcheol said, planting a kiss on Jeonghan’s temple, now that he didn’t pull away anymore. “You’ve been with us for a year, now.” 

“Today?”

“Mm, no, tomorrow.” 

All the guns had been checked, so now Jeonghan started working on putting the ammo in the bag as well, working quickly despite Seungcheol being practically latched onto his back. 

Jeonghan pulled from his boyfriend’s grasp once he’d wrapped everything up, Seungcheol’s hands only loosening around his waist as he spun around to face him. “It’s ready.”

Reaching his hands up to cup Jeonghan’s cheeks, Seungcheol leaned in, capturing the other’s lips with his, pouring as much love as he could into it. He pulled away after a moment, keeping Jeonghan’s head only a few inches away from himself. “Let’s go show those fuckers what happens when you mess with us.” 

Jeonghan followed his leader to the car where the other members were waiting, having readied themselves up for the night. This time, however, the worry that he might not make it to see the sun rise again was absent from his mind.


End file.
